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started solids at 6 months but baby still prefers breastfeed

I´ve breastfeeded my 7 month baby exclusively for 6 months, last month we started solids but I´ve never get him to open his mouth by himself. He only open it like wanting to eat when I give him an apple cube or a carrot(among other fruits and vegetables)but almost never with the spoon. I had the plan of breastfeeding him for 1 year; 6 months exclusively breastfeeding and the other 6 months solids and breastfeeding, also I was planning not to give him bottle and when he is 1 year, start hole milk in a cup. Can anyone recommend me how to achieve my goal!!! I think I´m not succeding!!

Re: started solids at 6 months but baby still prefers breast

Welcome to the forum!

It actually sounds like you are succeeding very well. You've breastfed exclusively for 6 months, and your baby is interested in solids if you allow him to self-feed. It sounds like the only problem you have is that he doesn't like the spoon, and even though a lot of people don't realize this, many babies do not like to be spoon-fed! My first baby was that way; if a spoon came towards her mouth she would purse her lips and bat the spoon away, sending puréed food splattering across the wall. The best thing you can do, IMO, is to put the spoon away and allow your child to self-feed. Just put some healthy solids on his tray and let him get them into his own mouth. He's still so little that it does not matter whether or not he actually eats the solids. Until a year, breastmilk alone is capable of meeting all a baby's nutritional needs, and solids are just for fun with new tastes, textures, and motor skills. So if the baby eats some solids, great! And if he tastes some solids and then spits them out, still great! And if he refuses to even taste the solids and prefers to mush them with his hands, that's still great because at least he had a fun learning experience.

Re: started solids at 6 months but baby still prefers breast

I agree, things are going great for you! A seven-month-old might not eat any solids at all, and that's okay! Just a taste or two every couple of days is all they need. Here are some articles and resources you could read: https://www.llli.org/nb/nbsolids.html

Re: started solids at 6 months but baby still prefers breast

Thank you so much for your advice! I´m taking it calm and easy and everything it´s going ok, he is accepting to eat from cups and bowls by himself and even better he seems to enjoy it. Time to time he become cranky but I give him some time or stop feeding him, dependig on his humor, and leave it to the next meal. I´ll keep going!! Thank you!